ORDINARY DAYS

Ordinary Days is an original musical following four young New Yorkers whose lives intersect serendipitously in some of its most famous streets, parks and museums. Talking to the audience and each other through a score of songs, they each share their struggles to find love, happiness and meaning as they negotiate the complexities of life in the big city.

While this production might seem awash with sentimentalism due its messages about letting go, taking risks and finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, luckily this isn’t cheesy or overdone. In fact, the production strikes the right balance by employing irony, humour and the subtlety of music, allowing the elegiac tunes of the piano to amplify the emotional beats.

This is also helped by first-rate performances. Rachael Beck is a natural singer and performer, seeming to float around the stage while Michael Falzon is steadfast and powerful. Together, they bring a genuine intimacy to their roles as Claire and Jason, the couple deciding whether to make a long-term commitment.

Erica Lovell is a standout as Deb, the angry grad student, who constantly wants to be someone where else in a bid to realise her ‘big picture’. Through her interactions with the unwavering idealist, Warren, played by Jay-James Moody, she invokes the sardonic wit of the character with razor-sharp timing, bringing some of most humourous moments.

In the end, I couldn’t helped be moved by Ordinary Days, its music and message. As Warren explains to Deb while gazing at a gallery painting: artists make us see the beautiful in the ordinary and, “beautiful takes reflection; beautiful takes someone to make a connection”. This production certainly lives up to this credo and the result brought tears to my eyes … Oh well, I guess that’s the beauty of living in the moment.

Until Feb 19, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, 19 Greenknowe Ave, Potts Point, $33-38. 8356 9987, darlinghursttheatre.com